Fed up
by fanfictionfan123456
Summary: Lincoln does not go to Lynn Jr's second game to convince his family he's not bad luck. After all, they already decided he was. This is the result. During "No Such Luck"
1. Lincoln gets fed up

"Step away from the house son"

Something in Lincoln shattered when his father, his god damned **father** of all people said this to Lincoln. Lots of times while he was growing up, he had felt deep down that his father preferred his daughters over himself. Just look at the fact that whenever his sisters screwed up, Dad was quick to forgive, even when the things his daughters did made him a pariah at work (take your daughter to work day). in the community store (when they were banned for bad behavior), and even at home (when Lucy clogged the toilet and he took the blame). Now that he thought about it, his father hadn't even hung Lincoln's picture on the wall. It was like to this family he was the target, the lightning rod for their chaos, and he was sick of it. Until now however he was willing to take it all, it felt like his burden as the only boy. Hearing his father banish him from the house was the straw that broke the camels back.

For a few moments, he stared up at the house, hoping desperately that this was one of luan's pranks and he'd be let back inside. He even tested the door, only to find it dead bolted and locked. Lincoln wasn't sure what he was going to do now. Would he be forever left outside, like the family dog? Well all right then.

The man with the plan took one last, long, sad look at the dark house and started to plan anew. He wouldn't call the cops, even if he knew that locking your son out of the house had to be illegal, nope, he might not love his sisters or family at this moment but that didn't mean he wanted them to suffer. He considered running away, but to where? Pop-Pop lived in a retirement community and while his white hair would allow him to blend in for a while, eventually someone would realize that he was not in fact a senior. He could try to live on the streets, but a moments consideration and he realized that was a no go too. There was just no way he was strong enough to avoid being snapped up by some gang or something. Then as he looked at the garage, he had an idea.

He waited until the next day when he was sure that everyone was gone, and then he took the ladder from the side of the house and propped it up to not his room, but Leni's. He knew for a fact that Leni was always leaving the window open, thinking it to be the door. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that she had, once again left it open. Once inside, he decided against taking anything from here, there really was nothing useful. But it did have access to the vents. Although Lincoln was a little large for crawling through, he made his way to his room, dropping inside only to have his heart break further. His parents hadn't just locked him out of the house, they had taken all of the furniture from his room. He didn't know what they had done with it, just that it looked as though they had wanted to remove all reminders that he ever slept here.

Luckily, they didn't know about the loose floorboard, his own personal hiding space. It was normally under his dresser where he could just slightly open it to shove things in. Now he could see it, because his dresser was gone. Sighing heavily he removed the board to find his stash, a few Ace Savvy comic books that were a little more adult that he didn't want his mom knowing he read, an extra orange shirt that had a mysterious stain that he had tossed there because he was tired of having his mother complain about it, and a coin bag that contained all of the money he had saved from the dryer, and from the couch cushions.

He wrapped the coin bag and the comic into the shirt and continued on to Lisa's room. He grabbed water purifying agent from where he knew she kept it and continued on to Lucy's room. He didn't stay long, only long enough to grab a few of her darker, heavier curtains from their spot around Lucy's 'bed'. He didn't bother with any of the other girls' rooms. He had what he needed. Leaving the upstairs, he went down to the kitchen where he found one of dad's giant lobster pots that he used for most of their cooking and filled it to the brim with canned goods from the pantry as well as his favorite cereal and a can opener. Then he went over to the family trophy shelf. They seemed to mock him with their shining faces as he stared at his single, stupid, most improved brother trophy. He cried as he threw it to the ground, smashing it to a million pieces. Then with a little effort he ripped his name from said trophy shelf, and raising a bat he'd found lying around the living room, smashed the shelf his trophy was sitting on.

All the time he was doing this, he couldn't help wondering if this was why his family hated him, because he wasn't smart like lisa, or fashion savvy like Leni, or sporty like Lynn Jr, or a pageant winner like Lola, or helped out the family like his plumber/mechanic/do it yourselfer sister Lana. He was just the boy of the family, a nothing, a nobody.

Sighing heavily he grabbed his bounty, and unlocked the back door, dragging it all out to the garage. He'd make his own place out here, somewhere he didn't have to be bothered by the father that didn't understand him, or the sisters who made his life miserable. He was able to snag a cot from Mr. Grouse by sneaking into his confiscated items shed. Then, he set up. He grabbed the little pool he and his sister played in every summer and set it up under the rain spout outside for water. He stored the water purifying agent he'd stolen from Lisa in the corner, and then put up the heavy curtains he'd taken from Lucy for privacy. Then he went out to the yard and took a water jug he found near the trash bin for his 'shower'. He wasn't going to take one from the bin, he didn't want it to be contaminated. He rinsed it well with some bleach he found near the back of the garage on a high shelf he reached by using the ladder. Then he slowly closed the garage door and blocked it with a piece of wood so it would not open unless he removed it. Then, and only then did he open one of the cans of *loopy o's and once he had finished eating he laid on his cot until he fell asleep.

End

I know, there are a lot of No such luck fics, but i wanted to do one. Poor Lincoln. No child should ever be told by a Parent to step away from their own house, no matter what he has done. I wanted to explore a little bit on what could have happened had Lincoln decided not to go to Lynn Jr's next game and how he would deal with being expunged from the family like they did. I hope i explained well enough why he decided not to call the cops or run away.

*loopy o's don't exist but nobody ever uses the real name of any food in this show so here you go. think of them like spaghetti o's


	2. Lynn Jr is not wrong

Everyone is right about the "no such luck" episode. It has been done to death. However, what i believe hasn't been done, what i am exploring is how i think the characters would each feel about things had they been done differently. Now here is Lynn Jr's part\

* * *

She wasn't wrong about Lincoln being bad luck, she couldn't be. Because if she was wrong about Lincoln that meant the she was not a winner, that she had lost due to lack of skill and that was something she could not accept. She'd always had a knack for sport, it was her thing, she didn't know why she loved her sports so, just that whenever she won, she felt good inside as others congratulated her, as her dad looked at her with such pride. But now, her team had not only lost, no that would be a mild term for the absolute thrashing they had taken. The game ended with the other team scoring 15 runs and hers only getting a measly 2.

How had it happened? it had to be Lincoln's fault didn't it? After all in the last game she had done all of her rituals, had worn her lucky jersey and cup, had prayed to the baseball gods. The only thing different had been Lincoln's attendance. But Lincoln hadn't been to this game, a fact she had checked before starting to play, just to make sure the little sneak didn't try to attend the game even after he was told he couldn't come. They had still lost, but she couldn't be wrong, she just couldn't be.

Lincoln had even shown everyone how much like bad luck he was by breaking Lori's clubs, proving even to Lisa that he was indeed bad luck. So she couldn't be wrong, could she? The van ride back to the house was silent without her father saying a word. She didn't bother to say anything back, after all, what could she say? That she was wondering if she had treated her brother like crap for nothing? That she was doubting her ability as an athlete and as a good big sister? She couldn't be wrong, she just couldn't be. But every time she tried to convince herself that of course she had done the right thing, the nagging voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Lincoln just wouldn't shut up about how he had tried to confess that he had made the whole bad luck thing up. But she just couldn't be wrong could she?

Then, when they unlocked the front door, she was surprised to see glass in the living room, as well as what looked to be a shard of a familiar looking trophy. Sadly as she turned on the light, it was confirmed by the one remaining shard that still had a letter on it, the letter "B". She felt something leak down her face as she stared at the spot in the trophy shelf where her brothers trophies were supposed to go, just now noticing the glass shard that had rained down on hers and her sisters trophies. She spotted a bat lying next to the trophy shelf and she didn't have to have Lisa's intellect to figure out what had happened.

Wiping her face, she noticed that the wetness she had felt were in fact, tears. But why? Lincoln had started the whole thing by causing her to lose her game hadn't he? Hadn't he also wrecked Lori's clubs? She just couldn't be wrong, could she?

No ready answers would come even as she trudged up the stairs, causing her to see the board running across Lincoln's room. Had they really locked him out? But she couldn't be wrong, he was bad luck, he couldn't be allowed to stay. She tossed for the rest of the night, she just couldn't be wrong, could she?


	3. Lynn Sr Fixes things part one

He knew as soon as he stepped inside the house to see the glass on the floor that he'd messed up as a father. Lincoln had clearly taken out his frustrations on the family trophy shelf, and he couldn't say he blamed the kid. After all, what would he have done if it had been him that had been told by his own father that he had to "step away' from his own house because his father believed he was bad luck and didn't want to risk it?

He knew that Lincoln had been faking, how could he not, but he and his wife had always believed in natural consequences for their kids, allowing them to learn on their own why doing something was wrong. But the more he thought about it, the more he was smacking himself in the head for allowing things to go so far. He and his wife had agreed when they had talked about it that if Lincoln was going to pretend to be bad luck just to get out of doing things he didn't want to do, then they weren't going to allow him to go do the fun things either. Then, he had allowed his own daughter to board up his only son's room, had sold all of his furniture, and had forced Lincoln to sleep outside.

It was a miracle, he reflected, that no one had seen Lincoln sleeping outside and called the police. Heck, thinking about his boy being forced from the home, he was surprised Lincoln hadn't made the call himself. If that had happened, there would be no explaining that they were only trying to teach the boy a lesson. There would only be jail time , loss of work, loss of their children, and a good well deserved thrashing form his father in law. He had allowed his son to be forced from his own home, had allowed his sisters to board up his son's room, had even sold his furniture. Just how bad did the punishment have to be for lying?

One thing was for sure, he was going to have a long talk with both Lincoln and his sisters going forward. This kind of behavior was not appropriate. First things first, he sent all of the girls to bed without supper and let them know that there was going to be a family meeting in the morning. Secondly, he swept up all of the glass from the trophy case, and all of the shards of Lincoln's singular trophy. Thirdly, he took a crowbar he borrowed from Lana to pry the boards from Lincoln's room.

God, what was he thinking when he sold the boys furniture? Lincoln was going to be devastated. He vowed to make it up to his son by taking Lincoln to the mall to pick out new furniture. Lincoln deserved at least that.

Then, and only then did he head into the back yard to look for Lincoln, noticing the curtains on the garage window, he didn't have to look far. Screwing up his courage he knocked on the door.

"Lincoln, i need you to open up son, we need to talk"

"Are you sure you want to come in, after all you might catch my bad luck and lose your job" Lincoln said bitterly

He winced "Hey son, i know you are mad, and you have full right to be, but we need to talk. Whether that's through notes in the door or me coming in, we need to talk."

He heard the sound of a board moving from behind the garage's side door, and watching as Lincoln slowly opened the door.

"Thank you for letting me in son." He sat on the edge of the cot, "Listen son, i want you to know that I'm sorry. But i'm sorry isn't enough. I didn't bother to step in when your sisters boarded up your room. I didn't step in when we made you sleep outside. I'm stepping in now. From now on Lincoln i want you to come to me whenever you are having problems with your sisters, or want some alone time. You deserve to feel loved Lincoln, you deserve to feel like your parents have your back"

"I'm not moving back into the house."

"Fair enough. But son, please come inside for breakfast tomorrow. We are having a family meeting and i'll be laying down a few new rules. Do you have anything you'd like to have happen?"

"I'd like to have a proper lock on my door before i come back inside, and for the girls to realize that if they want privacy in their rooms then they can't expect to keep walking into mine whenever they feel like it. I'd also like to have one day a week to have to myself, just to unwind. I love my sisters, and want to support them, but sometimes it feels like I have nothing left for myself. Oh, and i'd like a photo up on the wall, I feel like i'm being left out."

"All very good suggestions son. Never forget I love you."

"Good night dad."

As Lynn Sr. walked away from the garage, he reflected on life. He had always been so proud of his ability as a father to keep things together, but this whole fiasco showed that he needed to step up a little more and put his foot down. It would take time, but he'd make sure that nothing like this ever happened again.

End chapter

So Lincoln forgives his father rather quickly, but think of it this way, Lynn Sr. has had time to reflect on the whole episode, and how he reacted and realized what a shit storm he created, and how far he has pushed his son away. Lincoln's not going to forgive everyone so quickly, but look at what his father is doing. First he apologized, then he told his son that he was going to have a family meeting to set down new rules. He realized that he screwed up in the way he was trying to deliver the lesson to Lincoln and that he needs to do better.


	4. Rita makes things right

She remembered all of her children's births, Lincoln's most of all. How could she not with the reactions of both her husband, and the other five children upon revealing the gender.

"Are you sure this time?"

She smiled at her husband, they had both been told by the pediatrician and the ultrasound tech that Lynn Jr. was going to be a boy, had even bought everything in blues, then she had come out, and although they were both surprised that Lynn Jr. was indeed a girl not a boy, they both agreed that they wouldn't treat her any differently. Digging through her purse, she pulled out a very clear ultrasound of their boys legs, showing that he was indeed, very much a boy. She remembered each of the five older girls telling her that they didn't want a little brother, and then he had come. He had been so much smaller than any of the girls, and shock of shocks, had pop-pops bright white hair in a little tuff on his head. Truthfully she hadn't known what to expect with a boy, they'd only had girls up to that point, but she and her husband had agreed that they wouldn't treat him any differently than they would any of the girls.

How wrong she'd been. When she and her husband had first heard that Lincoln was bad luck from Lori, they knew right away what was happening, how could they not? Lincoln was pretending so that he wouldn't have to go to his sisters events. Well, they would teach him that it was not okay to lie. So they pretended to believe in Lincoln's bad luck enough to make him eat in the living room, and then to make him stay home instead of going to the movies with them. Somehow though, things had gotten out of control. They had allowed the girls to kick him from the house, and instead of comforting Lincoln, she and her husband had sold his furniture. She'd be kicking herself for months for that.

As a dental assistant, she had been trained in medical school to look for abuse, but for some damn reason, she hadn't thought of what they were doing as just that. Emotional instead of physical, but that would not matter in the slightest bit if anyone had seen Lincoln sleeping outside. Her father would be so ashamed of her. Her and her husband had a short talk after finding that Lincoln had smashed the family trophy shelf, he would talk to Lincoln first, she would talk to the girls. Her husband had sent them to bed without dinner, as much a punishment as he could handle without yelling she was sure. Taking a deep breath herself she started in Lori and Leni's room.

"Lori, Leni, lets start with you."

"Like i'm busy texting bobby mom, what's up?"

She sighed, they'd have to have a talk with Lori about appropriate phone usage. It wasn't healthy for Lori to be practically married to the thing, but first things first, " Lori put your phone down now."

"But my boo boo bear and i aren't done talking."

She reached out and grabbed the phone, "Bobby Lori's not going to be able to talk to you for a couple of days she is now grounded from her phone."

She watched her eldest daughters face go from shocked to furious, "You can't do that! What will I do without my boo boo bear?"

"Lori, you don't need to be talking to your boyfriend constantly, you can have the phone back in a couple of days. Now that i have your attention, i need you girls to listen. What we did to Lincoln wasn't right, you have to know that. He wasn't ever bad luck, you have to know that. Also you need to know that there are going to be changes around this house. Like your cell phone usage young lady."

"But mom, Lincoln ruined my clubs, he really is bad luck." Lori whined,

"No, he isn't. Now i wasn't in the hallway when Lincoln ruined your clubs, but I will bet that he did it on purpose to avoid going to your game, and before you get mad, think of what your brother has been going through. You girls always drag him to your events even if he doesn't want to, and i don't blame Lincoln for trying to get out of it. However, I want you both to think, really think, what if it had been you that Lynn Jr. blamed for being bad luck? What if your brother had been attacked or killed while outside? What if someone had seen him outside and phone social services? We were really lucky because just like you girls, there is only one Lincoln. Think about it and think about how you can apologize."

As she closed the door, she reflected that this one was probably the easiest, Lori would be mad about her phone being taken, but she took her job as eldest sibling pretty seriously, and when Lori did some reflecting, would realize how bad she had messed up. Rita hadn't needed to talk to Leni, she knew her second eldest daughter was only going along with the crowd, and although that was bad, they all knew that Leni was special. That shouldn't dis include Leni from punishment, and Rita knew just how to make that happen. But first, she had to see all of the rest of the sisters. It took the rest of the night for her to let all of her daughters know just how badly they had all screwed the pooch, and that in the morning her husband was going to be laying down some new rules. Then and only then did she head straight for the garage where her husband had just left.

Seeing Lincoln inside, sitting on a cot of all things, she felt her heart break a little, "Son, i know you are mad, and that dad has already apologized, but i want you to know that I am so very very sorry."

"you say that now, but nothing's going to change. You'll still allow the girls to do whatever they want and the only one who ever has to suffer is me."

She pulled him into her lap as he cried, rocking him as if he were a baby again, "Oh baby, is that how you really feel?" When Lincoln nodded through the tears she hugged him again, "Lincoln honey, I want you to know that we realized what we did wasn't right. You should never have to feel like you aren't loved. I know i have screwed up, and that is why i want you to be my reminder."

"What does that mean?"

"Honey any time you feel like you aren't being treated fairly i want you to remind me how close we came to losing you. Secondly tomorrow i want you to tell all of the girls how they are making you feel. And i know dad has already promised you this, but i want you to come to me or dad whenever you feel like your feelings are being ignored or you want some time away from your sisters."

"But dad said family supports each other."

"Yes, and dad is right about that, but you are only one boy Lincoln and a child. You should be allowed to not attend your sisters events if you don't want to go."

"Even if one of the girls threatens me?" 

"Did lynn jr. do that?"

"With a baseball bat."

"Oh honey, i'm so sorry. Lynn Jr. will be punished accordingly. I also want you to know that i have instructed your sister Lisa to record everything tomorrow including the new rules. I don't ever want to forget that we almost lost you."

For the rest of the night, she stayed with Lincoln, just holding him like she used to when he was very small and reflecting. Reflecting on how things could have gone if she hadn't come to her senses when she did. Reflecting on how much they allowed their daughters to get away with and how she vowed to change to become the mother she promised she would be when her first was born. It was time for her to put her foot down and be a mother.

End chapter

I didn't describe Rita going into every room, because she told all of the children the same thing she did Lori and Leni. That they knew Lincoln wasn't really bad luck and that what they had done was very, very wrong.


	5. Lincoln lets it all out

Lincoln felt a lot better after talking to both his mom and dad. Sure, a part of him still felt angry about everything that had happened, but he had come to realize that they were human beings just like himself and his sisters. They were prone to making mistakes. Plus having Mom promise that he was allowed to tell all of the girls how he had felt, how he was still feeling was going to be satisfying. A shudder of fear went down his spine as he watched them all sit down in the living room, but he could feel his mothers arm on one side and his fathers on the other. The had his back, he realized.

"First of all, i want to tell you all that I'm sorry that i lied about being bad luck. That wasn't right of me to do. Secondly i want you to know that i will be staying in the garage for now, or at least until you all learn that i have as much right to my privacy as you all do, and as soon as mom gets my new furniture." He took a deep breath, as he looked at them all again.

"Lori, Leni, I'll start with the two of you. I want you to know that i'm disappointed in you both. You are both the oldest in the family and should have known that boarding up my room and banning me from the house wasn't right. Also Lori, i need you to know that i am done covering for you whenever you are supposed to be in charge, its not fair to either me or Lucy to be forced to contain everyone because you just have to be on the phone."

"That's rule number one Lori, from now on when we leave you in charge we expect you to be the responsible one and until you can prove it to us, i have suspended your phone contract. If you want to talk to bobby you can do it for one hour a day on the home phone, no more." Dad said sternly

"But what about my boo-boo bear? He'll miss me!"

"Young lady, you are about to be an adult. It's about time you started acting like one! Lincoln has told us how when we leave you in charge you do nothing except talk on your phone and don't even watch your younger siblings. What would you have done if one of the other girls was injured because you weren't paying attention? Not to mention that we have been paying you for a job that you clearly haven't been doing." Mom added.

Seeing that Lori was thinking, Lincoln hurried on to Leni "Leni i want you to know that i'm not really mad at you, i understand that you were just going along with everyone else, but it still hurts to know that you didn't even try to defend me."

"I'm sorry Linky." She wailed as she hugged me, "I know, i have a lot of my allowance saved up, what if I were to buy you a new bed?"

"Thank you Leni."

"I never meant to hurt you linky."

I smiled, i knew she was trying her best and promised to be easier on her in the future. Now it was Luna and Luan's turn.

"Luna, Luan i want you both to know how upset i am with both of you. Luna, i thought we were best friends as well as the only one in this house who seemed to understand me. I thought you would always be there for me. Luan, i know you like a prank, but i feel hurt that you never seem to understand the difference between a prank and being a bully. Did you think about if those raccoons you sicced on me last year had rabies or not? Did you wonder why everyone is afraid of you, afraid of a holiday that should be full of laughter besides your own? No, everything is a joke to you. Well i'm telling you now, it isn't funny to be afraid of your own sister, afraid of what she is going to do because she seems to have no limits. I'm sorry Luan but until you can show that you understand the difference between a prank that everyone finds funny and bullying I'm quitting funny business."

"And that is the second new rule around here. From now on i want you all to come to me or your mother when things are getting out of hand with one another. Lincoln told us how he felt during the sister fight protocol and while i agree that it was nice that you girls seemed to be able to work things out, it wasn't cool for you to block the bathroom Luna. Luan, I am banning you from your pranking materials and from funny business until you can prove that you know the difference between a prank and bullying. I am done being afraid of my own daughter because of your so called pranks."

"Little bro, I'm sorry i was so uncool, i hope we can get to be good pals again." Luna said as she hugged me, "I'll pitch in my allowance as well to help replace your clothes."

"I'm sorry about kicking you from the house little bro, and i'm ashamed to say that i ever thought it was a funny prank, and maybe someday, you can come back and work with me and funny business. You really are my best brother helper."

Lincoln then turned to Lynn Jr. "I don't have the words to tell you how angry i am at you. You are the worst sport i have ever seen. Do you ever think about how others feel when they see you gloating because you won? Or how your siblings are afraid to even let you win a board game? did you even think about the fact that i have been to plenty of your soccer, hockey, football games without you losing? No, you automatically assumed that it was my fault you lost. Well congratulations, you got what you wanted, i am never coming to another of your games. Oh, and if you ever threaten me with a bat or anything else again i will not be afraid to press charges."

"That is the third rule. From now on, i want you all to let me know if you don't want to go to your siblings events. Yes i believe you should all support one another, but if you don' t want to go, you shouldn't have to." Mom said

"Lucy, I want you to know that i understand how you could get swept up in the bad luck fiasco, after all you are the only one i would have thought would actually believe in superstition and bad luck. However, I think you need to have a good talk with mom and dad about the difference between superstition and reality."

Lynn jr. didn't say anything to Lincoln, not that he expected her to, she probably still thought the whole thing was his fault. Lucy on the other hand, well Lincoln could see the tears from her eyes, as she hugged him.

"Lola, Lana, i think i am disappointed in the both of you the most. Lola, have i ever complained about you dragging me to all of your beauty pageants? Well, I am now. Did you know that grown men have propositioned me about you, or that i get stared at by your competitors? Or have i ever told mom and dad that you basically threaten other contestants? Well i am now. I am done being your pageant coach and i am done covering for you. Lana, how could you board up my room like that? Did you ever stop to think, hey this is my brother? No, you all treated me worse than the family dog. Well I'm putting my foot down."

"Lola, is this true?" Mom asked, looking horrified

"They don't deserve to win, none of them do!"

Mom looked at dad, who looked equally horrified, "Well i am fixing this right now! Tomorrow we are going to take each and every trophy you have won and give them to the runners up. Then you are going to personally apologize to all of those girls for terrorizing them. Then i want you to write me an essay on true beauty and what it means to you, and Lola if you don't do it, then i am officially banning you from any pageants until you realize what you did wasn't right."

"Bro, it wasn't cool of me to board up your room, I don't know what i was thinking. I'll help dad build you a new wardrobe for your room."

Finally it came time for lisa's turn, "Lisa, Lilly i saved you for last because you really didn't do much in the long run, but i hope this has taught you that lying isn't right and that as smart as you are Lisa, you can be conned."

Lincoln finally felt like he could breath easier now, sure it was hard to tell the girls exactly how he felt, but he felt that it was going to be better for them in the long run. Plus having the girls apologize and offer to help him rebuild his room felt like mom and dad were finally standing up for what was right. Still, he watched as Lynn Jr stood separate from them all, just watching as they hugged it out. Until finally in a waterfall of tears she punched him lightly on the arm, as much as an apology as he figured he was going to get from her he guessed. It would be all right now.

End


	6. Alternate Ending one Part one

Alternate Ending One:

Because i felt like this is what could have happened if the police/neighbors/ anyone with a brain had seen Lincoln sleeping outside, or heard his confession with the bullhorn.

* * *

Clyde had always been a little jealous of Lincoln, he realized this when they had first met and Lincoln had introduced all of his siblings. Not that he didn't love his dads, or realize how lucky he was that whomever they had used for a surrogate hadn't decided to back out of the deal or to keep him themselves. Not because of the attention, for he knew for a fact that Lincoln craved the individual attention that he got from his dads. No, it was because secretly, Clyde felt like most single children, grateful yes, but lonely. He always felt like Lincoln's sisters gave him something he felt was missing from his own family, a sense of being part of something bigger, of being a sibling too.

Then came the day that Lincoln told Clyde that he was going to pretend to be bad luck to get out of going to his sister's events. Clyde didn't understand it, if it were him, he'd love to go to parties with Luan, or beauty pageants with Lola, or "sigh' anywhere really with Lori. So he tried to talk Lincoln out of it.

That hadn't gone over well, Lincoln usually did what he wanted, he was the man with the plan after all and Clyde was just the worrywart best friend. Then he heard Lincoln telling him that his parents, his parents, were making Lincoln sleep outside. Clyde immediately told his dads, how could he not? He was worried for his best friend, it was not a really cold night, but there was no shelter in the backyard, no place for Lincoln to really sleep. His dads had given him a strange look and asked him to repeat himself.

"I said Lincoln told me his parents are making him sleep outside tonight."

"Are you sure he didn't ask to camp out?"

"Positive." Then Clyde told them about Lincoln's plan to get out of his sister's events and their faces got even more incredulous.

"So, wait, are you really trying to say that his parents, his god damned parents of all things, decided that because he is bad luck that he has to sleep outside?"

Clyde was taken aback a little by his dad swearing "Umm yes, that sounds right."

"Nothing about this is right son. Thank you for telling us. Now i need you to go to your room, we will deal with this."

"This? what's there to deal with?"

"Son, just please, go to your room, and thank you again for telling. That can't have been easy.'

"Lincoln is my best friend. You'll make sure he's all right, right?"

"Yes son, we'll make sure of it."

Glancing at his dads, Clyde made his way upstairs, but not without stopping at the top, shutting the door to his room so that his dads would hear it and making his way stealthily to the top of the stairs where he could still hear everything.

"I know you said we didn't want to do anything the last time Lincoln was here and he was practically begging for us to pay attention to him, but hon, this, this is nothing short of child abuse."

"Do you still have the report we were going to submit to the cops and social services?"

"Right here."

"I think it's time we use it."

"But hon, they could lose all of their kids over this."

"I know hon, but think of it as if it were our little Clyde that was hurting like Lincoln is no doubt hurting right now. Wouldn't you want someone to do something too?"

Clyde turned from the hall and went to his room, thinking about what he had overheard. His dad's had a report of some kind from back when Lincoln had come over looking for help on his science project, what kind of report could it be? Then there was his dad's comment about child abuse. Were his dad's right, were Lincoln's parents really abusing him? Clyde didn't sleep easy all night and in the morning he found out the results of his telling his dad's about Lincoln sleeping outside. The cops had arrested Lincoln's parents and wanted to talk to everyone in the neighborhood it seemed about not just Lincoln but all of the kids. That couldn't be good.

End part one


	7. Alternate Ending one Part two

Alternate Ending One: part two

Because i felt like this is what could have happened if the police/neighbors/ anyone with a brain had seen Lincoln sleeping outside, or heard his confession with the bullhorn.

* * *

The police station was full of children. But instead of it being for one of the many field trips the police secretly loved leading or one of the equally enjoyable 'scare a teen straight' nights, this time, it was for something much more serious. The children were being held by one officer at a time, to keep them separated until the main officer, the man who'd be in charge of investigating the report they had gotten could talk to them. But the absolute worst, was the confused looking young man with the bright white hair that Officer Mann had sitting in one of the Paramedics emergency blankets, sipping Officer Horn's hot coffee.

They knew all of these children personally, how could they not with (a) all of the complaints about the family's antics from the grocery store they'd been banned from and been reported about to the authorities, and (b) for all of the massive complaints that had come from the community about this particular family. But before last night, it had all been taken as sort of a kids will be kids sort of thing. They knew that the family had troubles keeping up with their kids, but with 13 kids to look after, who wouldn't.

Then they had got the call from a panicked sounding man telling them that they had to bring an ambulance to the Loud's back yard where they would find the only boy of the family sleeping outside because the family believed he was bad luck. They probably would not have investigated had it not been for the accompanying report from one of the two men that had called.

Officer Horn's face when he started to read the report fell as he recognized a child in need, a child desperate for someone, anyone to come to his aid. So, he and his partner had gone by with the patrol car, just to check up on things, and yep. There in the backyard, sleeping next to the dog was the only boy. He was only in his pajamas and had covered himself with leaves for warmth, but when Officer Horn had checked, the boy was ice cold to the touch and shivering violently. Cursing humanity at this point Officer Horn first put in the call for the ambulance as he took pictures. He wanted nothing more than to pick the young boy up and throw him into the car, but they needed the evidence he knew. He didn't want these people that dared call themselves parents having anything to get them out of this. Once he had his photos, he picked the boy up and wrapped him in his own patrol jacket, then carefully carried him to the patrol car where he had the heat cranked and just held the boy as he still slept. That was concerning. The boy probably had a touch of hypothermia, something that was confirmed when the Paramedics arrived to look the boy over. Horn had watched as the ambulance screamed away to the hospital, jacket still on the boy, as he looked at the door.

All of the lights were out in the house, meaning that everyone else that lived there was sleeping, sleeping as their brother/son was freezing to death outside. Horn hated child abusers with a passion, there were not many on the force that knew that he himself was a child abuse victim. It was what made him become a cop. Twenty years he had been on the force, ten of those years in this very community. He felt like he had let everyone down by letting this happen. He, like everyone else on the force had met the family inside the house more than once because of that shitty broken down piece of garbage they called a van having something or other wrong and pulled the Patriarch of the family over. Now, now he wished he had given that man the ticket he was going to issue and had let him off with.

All through the night he waited by the door, waited for someone, anyone to come check on the boy sleeping outside, but no one came. Officer Horn sighed heavily as at 8:00 in the morning he watched as someone pushed a bowl of cereal through the doggy door, no doubt for the boy they thought was still there. Horn shook his head, he couldn't believe anyone would be so cruel to a member of their own family, especially in this small community where everyone felt like family. Overnight he had called for the paddy wagon and backup. Now, it was time. He knocked on the door, loudly enough to start the dog barking at him.

"If that's you Lincoln, you can stay outside! I already gave you your breakfast, we can't have your bad luck infecting us."

A young voice chimed from beyond the door.

"Police, open up!"

"Lincoln, pretending to be a cop is not going to get you back inside, so go away!"

Fed up now, Horn nodded to his partner, whom until now had been pretty quiet, "This is Police Officer Horn, open the door this minute!"

He was surprised as he heard locks disengaging, holy geez, they'd not just left the poor boy outside to freeze to death, they had locked the doors so he could not get back inside even if the kid had tried. Horn was surprised to see a young girl with a tiara on her head opening the door instead of her parents.

"Hey kid, I'm officer Horn, where are your parents?"

"Oh they left to get groceries."

"Do they often leave you alone?"

"I'm not alone i have all of my sisters, besides Lori's in charge."

"Your oldest sister i take it?"

"Duh, she's 17. She's always in charge when mom and dad go out."

"So where is she?"

"Upstairs talking to her boyfriend probably. Look, what is this about?"

Horn looked to his partner, who looked equally horrified as he did that not only had the parents left, but the main kid in charge hadn't either looked in on her brother, nor had she been available to answer the door. That was all they needed. He picked the young girl up, and gently passed her to his partner, ignoring her questions as he did so. Things only got worse upstairs when he noticed a boarded up door with a note on it reading about how the other siblings didn't want to catch Lincolns' bad luck and that he had to sleep outside. Room by room they went, taking each girl and recording how the baby was sleeping in nothing but a dirty diaper right next to some dangerous looking chemicals, how one of the girls was sleeping in a coffin of all things, and last, but not least how the girl they had left in charge was sitting on her bed, talking to her boyfriend with the door closed of all things! This was going to be much harder than they thought.

End part two

So now we are starting to see some of what could have been the potential consequences. Now i know that the parents were home that morning but this is fan-fiction. We are going the 'what if' route of what if the cops had been called and the parents weren't home like they aren't a lot of the times the kids get into trouble?


	8. Alternate Ending one Part three

Alternate Ending One: part three: trial and aftermath

Because i felt like this is what could have happened if the police/neighbors/ anyone with a brain had seen Lincoln sleeping outside, or heard his confession with the bullhorn.

* * *

The little courtroom that normally only saw a few people trying to talk their way out of traffic fines was for the first time in a decade filled to the brim with onlookers, media, the accused, their children, the social service workers whom were holding them apart, and of course, the parents. The parents who had made the news in the worst way after someone discovered that the people who were trying to duck their heads and not succeeding had sent their only son outside to sleep because they believed he was bad luck. Not just that, but the investigating officers had found so many violations of heath and safety laws inside the house that it was condemned by the city.

That didn't stop curious onlookers from taking photos from said house and posting them on social media of course. The kids, all twelve of them were crying as they were held in a holding pen the court had never used before, one used for violent offenders, keeping them separate from their parents. As for the parents, the Patriarch of the family looked less than good after a stay in the local holding prison. It was small, but that just made it all the more difficult to keep the news that said Patriarch was guilty of Child abuse from reaching the prisoners. And if there was one thing prisoners hated more than their guards, it was Child abusers. The mother of the family was looking even worse, there was no female holding prison in town and she had been sent to the same place as her husband.

Both were sporting black eyes, the father having a tattoo in black on his forehead that read "child abuser" that looked inflamed and red. The mother had multiple bruises and a similar tattoo on her arm. But the worst, the worst was yet to come as the judge sat in front of the couple.

"Hear ye, hear ye, Judge Williams residing."

Judge Williams was known as the most fair and competent judge the town had ever known, although that wasn't saying much as he was the only judge the town had ever known. He had never presided over a child abuse case before, but that wasn't going to stop him from getting justice for the little boy and all those other children that from all reports, had needed to be pulled from the sad excuse for a family a long time ago.

The family's lawyer a man named Brent went first. "You are going to hear a lot of facts in the next couple of hours. These facts will show the Loud family to be a loving, if mistake prone family that needs to stay together, not be separated because of one mistake."

The the opposing lawyer James went "My opposing council is right on one fact, you are going to hear a lot of facts in the next couple of hours. A lot of facts that will go to show that this family was on the verge of destruction well before they made what council is calling a mistake. I intend to show that what this family needs is for those two who dare to call themselves parents be jailed and for the children to be in therapy if nothing else."

The judge called the firs witness, one that surprised everyone, Mr. Grouse. "Now mister Grouse is it true that you have been filling reports of misconduct on the Loud's ever since they moved in?" Brent began, "Sounds like you have a grudge."

"Mr. Grouse, can you tell us in your own words, what are the Louds like as a family?" James asked, grinning like a shark.

"I was more than willing to give them a little leeway given the fact they have more children than they seem to know what to do with, but over the years with the Louds i have personally seen that one, " he pointed to Lana, "Eating from garbage cans, that one" he pointed to Luna, "cranking up her 'music' to such ungodly levels that it blows her siblings back, and that one, " he pointed at Lincoln, "Running after his siblings trying to keep them from killing each other."

"Did you ever try to talk to the parents?"

"I did, and all they told me was that they let the kids do their own thing, that it was 'safer' that way."

"No more questions your honor." Brent said, sighing, things were not looking good and it was only the first witness! Slowly the trial went on, with neighbors confirming that Lana Loud was indeed known for eating from the garbage, and that little Lilly, the baby, was seen most days running around in nothing more than a diaper. Then came the most damming evidence from the cops whom had investigated the claim.

"So what made you decide this was indeed child abuse and not just a misunderstanding?" Brent asked Officer Horn, desperately.

"When we arrived i found the only boy outside in minus 15 weather in nothing but his pajamas. After i called the ambulance, i waited for someone to check up on the boy. No one did. When morning came i found that all the locks had been engaged on the door, making sure the boy couldn't get in if he tried. Heck there was even a board in front of the doggie door that you can see from my photos was dragged away only in the morning to put some cereal out for the kid as if he was an animal. You can hear the recording on my body cam as the girl i later found out was named Lola told her own brother that she assumed was me knocking that he was not allowed back inside. When i gained entrance, the parents were no where to be found. The girl they had left in charge, one Lori Loud was upstairs in her bedroom talking on her cell phone with the door closed. She didn't care enough to make sure that the kids were fed, or if her own brother was still outside!"

"The parents trusted the oldest with watching the family, did you ask her if she knew about her brother sleeping outside?' Brent asked, trying to throw the oldest under the bus. It was a hard decision, but the oldest would get off with a slap on the wrist due to being a minor and perhaps misunderstanding what she was told to do.

"oh you can bet your ass she knew. There was a note on the boys room door that you will see in my evidence log is signed by all the sisters telling the boy that he has to sleep outside because they can't risk catching his bad luck!"

"No more questions your honor" Brent said, sweating now, it looked more and more like the family was indeed guilty.

"I have only one more question your honor, " James said, still grinning, "I'd like for you to read your report aloud to the jury."

"That's hearsay!" Brent tried desperately

"It's on public record and everything was recorded by not only Officer Horn's body camera, but his partner's too."

"Objection overruled. You may read your statement"

"5:30 P.m i was called by a concerned citizen telling me that the Loud family was forcing their only son to sleep outside due to his being thought of as bad luck. 6:00 p.m. I received a report from said citizen about the children's visit to their house and the things they noticed. The report got me concerned enough that i went over just for a look. I found Lincoln Loud outside on a minus 15 degree night in nothing more than his pajamas. I took photos and when i picked him up, noticed that he was cold to the touch and shivering which you will see from my body-cam. When the Ambulance got there the paramedics diagnosed him as having mild to moderate hypothermia, a diagnosis that is on record with the paramedics that took him to the hospital as well as with the doctors that treated said hypothermia at the hospital. I waited until morning for someone to check up on Lincoln, but no one did. When i was eventually let inside i saw that there were problems beyond the boy being outside. I took evidence of every girl and their sleeping arrangements, as well as the parents room and after finding a crowbar made my way into the boys 'room', He is sleeping in a closet. granted it's a closet that has been made into a bedroom, but it is still obvious that it is a closet. I collected the girls and after checking in with the hospital brought Lincoln and them all in for questioning."

"What did that questioning reveal?" James asked

"That all of the girls had gotten together to ban their only male sibling from the house due to being 'bad luck' and that none of them even seemed the least bit remorseful."

"That's not true! We told you what happened!"

"Yeah it was all my fault." Lincoln said, shocking everyone into silence except the judge.

"Children, you'll have your turn. Until then i must ask that you keep quiet."

The reporters whom were already having a field day with the announcing of a child abuse trial were salivating at what Lincoln had said, what kind of family made their only son feel like he was responsible for everything that had gone wrong?

Finally Brent made his last, desperate attempt to convince the jury that the Louds were not guilty by putting the sisters up on the stand. That turned out to be a bad idea. One after the other they told how their brother had shown how he was bad luck, had even encouraged it to the point where they were all believing it. How they hadn't felt safe with him in the house, and that they felt they had to make him sleep outside. Then Lincoln went.

"Just tell the truth Lincoln, and everything will be all right." Brent began, "Is it true that you pretended to be bad luck in order to skip out of your sisters events?"

"Yes, i'm sorry mom and dad! I'm sorry girls! it's just that you all have your own thing and i'm always being dragged to your events, always having to be your cheer squad! I just wanted some time to myself! i was being selfish. This was all my fault. My parents aren't to blame, i was the one that convinced the others i was bad luck and they were just trying to teach me a lesson about lying! I swear that they aren't child abusers! They're good people! Please, don't take my family away." Lincoln began sobbing on the stand.

"Lincoln, do you feel safe in your home?" Brent asked,

"Of course i do! I mean, sometimes i feel a little left out cause the girls all have their talents and i don't but mom and dad support us all equally."

"No more questions your honor."

"Lincoln, do you know what abuse is defined as?" James began

"No."

"It can be defined as physical, mental, and emotional. Now i know you feel responsible for your actions, but your parents let things go too far. It was mental abuse to deny your own child a bed in the house. It was emotional abuse to leave you at home while they went out because they didn't want to catch your 'bad luck'. They may be your parents, but they have done something wrong, something that needs to be addressed."

"No, you're wrong! I told you it's all my fault! They weren't abusing me, they just wanted me to learn a lesson!"

James looked at Lincoln sympathetically, "Lincoln, they are the adults. That means that they should have stepped in when it was clear that you were faking being bad luck, and you can be damned sure they should have stepped in when your sisters kicked you out of the house. You can also be sure that they should have never allowed you to be left outside when the temperature was so cold. They knew better, but they still allowed it. You needed to be taught a lesson about lying sure, but they should have taken your feelings, your side of the story into account before doing so. That they went straight to believing your sisters over you shows that they aren't fit parents for you. That they even thought that it was okay for you to be out there on your own, that shows they aren't fit parents for anybody."

Lincoln was still sobbing as a Child protective service worker gently lead him from the stand. After finishing questioning the children, there really was nothing more Brent could do than hope that his close would move the jury.

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury you have heard that the Louds are an imperfect family, but that is what they are, imperfect. They made a mistake when they tried to teach a valuable lesson to their children, but that is all it was, a mistake. They need to stay together and keep making mistakes, to grow up together. The parents have been chastised severely and i doubt that they will ever make an error like this again. You heard it from Lincoln best, please don't take this family from each other."

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury i implore you to look past the cries of an emotional child and see the facts. The neighbors have testified that the children do what they want without recourse. That they run wild because the parents don't reign them in. Sure, i feel bad breaking them up, but think about the facts again. These people don't deserve children as good as Lincoln defending them. They deserve jail time. They deserve to be taught a lesson. Don't let these people off to further their abuse of their children."

It wasn't long until the jury returned with a guilty verdict. The judge sentenced both parents to jail time for Child abuse and health and safety violations. Lori Loud was additionally sentenced to juvenile prison for aiding Child abuse. The rest of the children were ordered to be taken by child services.

End chapter

So the trial and some of the conclusions are done.


	9. Alternate Ending One: End

Alternate Ending One: part three: trial and aftermath

Because i felt like this is what could have happened if the police/neighbors/ anyone with a brain had seen Lincoln sleeping outside, or heard his confession with the bullhorn.

* * *

In the end both of Lincolns parents were sentenced to 12 years for child abuse. Lori got off easy with a 2 year sentence for aiding child abuse. All of the children had been forced to be sent to the therapists, and into a foster home. At first Pop-Pop had tried to get custody of them, but at his advanced age, no judge would grant it. After serving five years of his sentence Lynn Sr. was released on good behavior. His first thought was to check up on his kids. They must be so scared, having been separated for so long. The first was easy to find, as Lori was now working at the same juvenile detention center that she had been sentenced to. When she saw him standing there, she called her co-worker to cover and the two sat in the lunchroom.

The silence at first was deafening.

"I don't know what to say to you." He started.

"That's weird because i feel the same." Lori stated, "I feel like i should be mad at you for what happened but I'm not. You know after i got here i kept blaming you and mom for everything. I refused to see that my actions had consequences. I didn't realize how self-centered i was being until Bobby came to see me. He didn't break up with me, but he helped me to see that because you and mom never set any standards for me, that yes, a lot of what happened was your fault. However, he also helped me to see that as the oldest sibling i had failed in my responsibility. That's when i started really thinking about all that happened before the 'bad luck' incident. Why didn't you ever punish us dad? Why didn't you or mom at least try to reign us in? I'm not mad you know, i really do feel like I've grown as a person, I'm even a counselor here for at risk kids. But I can't help the crushing disappointment i feel that you could have put your foot down at any time to stop us from imploding the way we did and neither of you did. I don't think i can ever see you the same way again, but I'd like it if we remained in contact, who knows maybe eventually I'll be able to move past this and we can be friends who share the same DNA if nothing else. Here's the addresses i have for the rest of the kids dad, good luck."

Slowly Lynn Sr. left the juvenile detention center, heading to his next destination, a brightly lit school for the disabled in the next county over. Walking to the room, he was surprised to see Leni of all people sitting in front of a group of kids, reading to them. But not just reading, no, she was showing them each individual letter and how the students could correspond the letters to things they knew such as a letter "m' looking like a mountain and so forth. He watched with no shortage of pride as she taught them until lunch break when she saw him standing in the doorway and ran to give him a hug.

"Dad, it's good to see you."

He couldn't help noticing that Leni was much better spoken now than when he had been sentenced to prison and remarking on it.

"That's because after you went in, they did some special testing on me. It turns out that i had a small, operable tumor in my head that was pressing in on my memory center. Also, it turns out that I am dyslexic. I spent a lot of time here relearning before going to community college and getting my teaching degree. Now i get to help kids like me who have problems. How come you and mom never had me tested dad? You had to have known there was something wrong with the fact that your 16 year old daughter couldn't read anything other than Dr. Seuss or that i couldn't do basic math."

"I guess it never occurred to me that something was wrong sweet-pea. You always seemed to be doing okay as it was."

"Not an excuse dad. I know you were only trying to do what you felt was right, but i can't help but feel like you and mom never did anything because you were lost in the fact that we had talents that you could show off. I mean i know i was good at fashion, still enjoy designing clothes for friends, but you had to know that I'd need math eventually, that my inability to read would come to haunt me when i signed contracts. I can't say that I'm happy that you guys never lifted a finger to help me, but I'm glad that this happened. Otherwise i wouldn't have come to realize what i was really meant to do, to help others like me. I'll be seeing you around dad."

He was shocked that she was doing so well, but also glad as he wondered how badly his interactions with the rest of the kids were going to go. Luna was next, and he was surprised when he saw her address, she'd been adopted by none other than the resident grump Mr. Grouse. Coming back to the old neighborhood was painful, especially when he saw their old house, it had been torn down after the trial for all of the damage he and the kids had caused over the years and now a small playground and daycare sat there instead. Coming up to Mr. Grouse's house he knocked.

"I'll get it!"

He heard Luna shout, and watched as her expression fell as she saw him standing there, "Well I guess you should come in."

"So I hear you got adopted by Mr. Grouse, how'd that happen?" He couldn't help asking

"Well after the trial I was sent to therapy and a group home. It turns out Mr. Grouse volunteers at that group home. He doesn't really hate kids you know, just doesn't like noise or uninvited people coming onto his property. We got to talking and he told me about his family and how he was missing having a big one around. Eventually we became pretty good friends and then he adopted me."

"What about your music?"

"Oh that? Yeah, I still play, but not as loud as i did before. Did they tell you they tested all of us and it turns out that because of the volume i was playing my music at that i now have tinnitus. It's not bad yet, but they say eventually i won't be able to hear a single note. I'm not mad dad, but i have to know how come you guys didn't ever force me to use hearing protection, or to turn the volume down?"

"I guess i just loved hearing you sing sweetheart."

"Well I'm not going to lie and say that I'm happy about that. Early intervention is key in cases of tinnitus. If this had been caught earlier and i would have kept the volume down, i probably wouldn't eventually be losing my hearing. Think about that when you think of me dad, you're welcome to drop by whenever you want, but i don't think we can ever be family again."

He thanked her, and went on his way to the next address, a small retirement community. It wasn't the same as the one that Pop-Pop had gone into and he found out why. This retirement community encouraged grandparents with kids to move in. That's where Pop-Pop was living now, with Luan and Rita, whom had gotten out before him. It was going to be hard, he knew, talking to his father-in-law. The man had come to visit Rita pretty often in jail, but when he saw Lynn Sr, would just growl a lot. However, he had to see them, to know they were all right. Taking a deep breath in he knocked on the door and was surprised when Rita opened it.

"Honey, oh my god, you're out! Why didn't you call?"

"No money hon. Everything i earned with being on the cafeteria team was used to pay my legal bills."

"Well you better come in then."

The condo apartment they lived in was small, but he could see was well loved. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a rather large kitchen/dining room for a condo. He sat on the couch, waiting. Finally Luan came out and he was surprised to see that she wasn't wearing her usual clown like attire.

"Hey kiddo."

"Dad!" she rushed to hug him, "I'm glad to see you."

"It's good to see you too. How are things going with mom and Pop-Pops?"

"Well as you know after mom got out she tried to get custody of us, but Lori had already turned 18 and didn't want anything to do with her, Leni's guardianship was given to the state, Luna was adopted, and so were the rest of us besides me. I sat in that foster home for three years dad. Three years where no one would take me because they were afraid of me. Afraid of what pranks i would pull. Mom and i got to talking after she and Pop-Pop moved here and got custody of me and I can't help wondering why neither of you never tried to stop me. Why mom never tried to pull me aside and show me how horribly wrong my pranks could have gone. Do you know those raccoons i sicced on Lincoln could have had rabies?"

"I tried Luan, you have to believe me, I tried. But you wouldn't see reason."

"I guess, but you didn't try hard enough dad. That's the point. You know the first time i pulled a prank on Pop-Pops after he got custody he almost died of a heart attack because of my prank? That's what being soft on me did dad. I didn't know that there was a difference between a prank that everyone finds funny and bullying. I was a bully and i almost got my grandfather killed. Would I have ever realized how far i was taking things if that hadn't happened? Probably not and then, then it probably would have been one of my siblings who had to spend time in the hospital."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry."

"No, you don't get to say sorry." she said, getting mad now, "You and mom both were the adults! I was a child! An out of control child! You should have done something more. I'm sorry dad, but I don't think I can talk to you right now."

She stomped away, leaving him to sit, looking at his wife who sat down next to him.

"She's so angry."

"She has a right to be angry hon." Rita said as she took his hand in hers, "We sat idly by and allowed her to pull pranks that could have seriously injured someone if not downright killed them. We both share the blame there. But i really think i am starting to get through to her, to show her that i am doing better, that i can be a better mom. Once you've seen all the kids, come back to me hon."

"But what about Pop-Pop?"

"Oh, he's still mad at you, and me. But i think time has softened that anger into regret, regret that he never took us to task regarding our handling of the kids, and I haven't stopped talking about you since I got out. I haven't stopped loving you. I could never stop loving you."

"oh hon, I can't believe we screwed them over so badly. How didn't we see it?"

"I don't know hon. But with time perhaps we can heal all the wounds and if not be a family, at least be able to talk to one another again."

"I'd like that."

"Who are you going to see next?"

"I guess it's Lynn Jr."

She winced in sympathy, "Good luck with that one. She still won't talk to me."

They hugged and he promised to come back to her once he'd seen all of the kids. But next he had to see Lynn Jr. The address she was living at was like a mansion, with a huge basketball court out front and a pool just to the side enclosed and heated no doubt. When he rang the doorbell there he recognized the face answering it, it was the girl from Lincoln's class everyone called girl Jordan.

"Whatever you're selling we aren't buying"

"No, I'm Lynn Loud Senior, and I'm here to see Lynn Jr. Could you please let me in?"

She sighed, and called out beyond the screen to someone. He could hear an argument in the background before the gates buzzed and he was allowed in. He was lead by a butler to the outback soccer field. He recognized the girl in the goalies net, how could he not. Even if she was now a few feet taller than she'd been when he went to jail, she still sported her lucky jersey.

"Hey." he said, not knowing really what to say

"Hey"

"It's good to see you still play sports hon."

"Yeah, but I'm not allowed on any teams until High School, I was banned from all sports teams at the junior level until i could prove that i no longer had a massive ego problem and a massive temper problem."

"I'm sorry about that sport."

"Nah, it was good for me. Good for me to see that what everyone was letting me get away with could be considered abuse, and that sometimes there will be players that are just better than you are and that there is nothing wrong with that."

"Was it really all that bad?"

"Dad, you and the coach both let me control everything the team was doing! I wouldn't even allow my teammates to use the bathroom before a game! Did you know one of the girls ended up with a bladder infection because of my stupid rituals? I sure didn't."

"Sport, I never thought really much on how you won, just that you were winning and I'm sorry to say that. I was a poor excuse for a father that couldn't see that just because you were good at sports, no, that your calling was sports that shouldn't allow you to get away with treating people who couldn't do sports like they were beneath you. I certainly should have stepped in when you started calling your brother bad luck. If i had, none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, but then I also probably would have gone on being an asshole who didn't give two flying figs about the other people on my team. Wouldn't have been adopted by Jordan's mom, who's a former soccer star. Wouldn't have realized that just because I'm good at sports now doesn't mean that one day i wont be and that i had nothing to fall back on. You know I'm thinking of going to university to become a doctor that specializes in sports injuries? All that because i saw how Jordan's mom had wrecked her knee playing and it killed her career."

"Well I'm glad you're doing well. Do you talk to the others?"

"Yeah, but they don't talk to me. i think they still blame me for everything."

"I stopped by and saw Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan already. I think they would love to hear from you. I know mom would as well."

"Yeah, okay dad. I'll try. It was good seeing you."

The next stop was going to be one of the hardest he knew, and that was the McBride household. He wasn't too surprised that Clyde's dad's had adopted Lincoln, after all, the two boys had been as close to brothers as two friends could be. But it still wasn't going to be easy. He screwed up what little courage he had and knocked on their door.

"Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, I'm here to see Lincoln."

"Well I'm not sure that he'll want to see you. He's been in therapy for a long time to get over what you and your wife put him through and i wouldn't want him falling back into that dark hole he was in before we adopted him."

"dark hole?"

"Lincoln tried to commit suicide three times after you and your wife were sent away. He believed that everything that happened was his fault, that if he wasn't such a whiner with no talent that maybe you would have been proud enough of him to allow him to do his own thing instead of being dragged to all of his sisters events. Did you ever stop to think gee maybe my only son shouldn't have to be dragged in 10 different directions by his sisters? Shouldn't have to be constantly reminded that they had gifts that he didn't? No, you only thought of them. I'm sorry , but we can't let Lincoln be hurt by you anymore. He's our son now and Clyde's brother. We have to protect him."

"I understand. I'll go."

"No, let me talk to him dad. I need this. You remember what the doctor said, I have to confront my problems head on."

Lynn Senior winced at Lincoln, who was standing at the top of the stairs, calling Mr. McBride dad, it hurt. But he knew he deserved it.

"Hey Lincoln. I'm glad you consented to seeing me."

"I just want this over with. Dad probably already told you how i tried to commit suicide after you guys were put away. But after I got in with a good therapist i began to see how none of this was my fault, that i was a child being asked to be the parent and that wasn't fair or right. And now I've got two dads that actually have time for me, have time to show appreciation for my artistic ability. Something i would have been afraid to show to you and Rita because that wouldn't have gotten me a stupid trophy that you could show off."

"Oh son, I never knew you felt like that."

"Because you never bothered to take the time to spend with me! Even before the 'bad luck' incident, when was the last time you and i spent time together as father and son? Because i know it's take your child to work day, not take your daughter to work day as you wanted us to believe, and did you really think that they enjoyed having you bring all of your daughters when they constantly wrecked your office? You're lucky they didn't fire you the first time you pulled that stunt. You created a house where the girls learned they could run wild without recourse, where an 11 year old thought he had to make sure the house didn't burn down because the sister you actually left in charge could have cared less as long as she could talk to her 'boo-boo bear'."

"You're right Lincoln, I can't say sorry enough to change the past, never forget i love you Lincoln. See, i don't even feel like i have the right to call you son anymore. Come by the retirement village where me and your mother will be living. We'd love to have you and your dads come and at least say hello to your sisters."

"Maybe i will and maybe i won't. Goodbye Lynn Senior. Have a good day."

That was the last thing Lincoln said as he walked back upstairs and Lynn couldn't feel like he'd failed as a father any more than when his own son wouldn't call him dad anymore, wouldn't even look him in the eyes. It was hard and painful, but nothing less than he deserved.

"Look me and Harold will talk to him, but there's no guarantee he'll ever want to see you or his siblings again. He's still pretty pissed at them."

"I guess that's all i can ask."

Next he headed to the house where Lana and Lola had both been adopted into, a much smaller house than the one they had lived in with him, but looked bright and cheery.

"Hey sis, catch!"

"got it!"

He watched in half amazement, half bewilderment as a pink clad, but no longer dress wearing Lola caught a ball thrown to her by her sister, not even minding that she had stepped into the mud to do so. Looking up as she ran into his leg, her face turned into a scowl, "Hey what are you doing here?"

"I've been checking up on all of you since i got out. I had to know if you were all right."

"Well i guess you'd better come in then. I'll tell mom you're here."

To his surprise, the woman who stepped out was none other than Lincoln's teacher Mrs. Johnson.

"Mr. Loud."

"Mrs. Johnson."

"Well this is awkward."

"Tell me about it. I just saw Lincoln and he's not too happy with me, and rightfully so. If you want to yell or even hit me I wouldn't be surprised."

"No, that urge passed when i came to the trial. I think you've been punished enough."

"I'm surprised to see Lola playing outside in the dirt with her sister. They couldn't stand to be together before."

"That was because I didn't realize that i was losing my sister by being such a self entitled brat that was only concerned with how many trophies i could bring home or how many pageants i could win." Lola said

"And i didn't realize how just because i liked boy stuff it didn't mean i had to hate girl stuff, or that i should not be eating out of a garbage can just because it was gross." Lana added

"Yes, i found out shortly after i adopted them that Lana here has the eating disorder known as Pica where she will eat strange things and not think anything of it. But after showing her the germs that are in an average garbage bin and having to have her stomach pumped twice she stopped doing that. As for Lola her, well it turns out that she was just craving the attention she wasn't getting from you guys. Now don't get defensive, sure you praised her for winning her pageants, but did you ever encourage her to try other things?"

"No, we thought she was happy doing the pageants."

"So did I until i realized that i was a monster, blackmailing people that i thought didn't give me a good enough score, hurting my sister by refusing to even try to see what she loved doing was interesting too, and worst of all, that if i didn't change, I'd end up in jail or worse."

"Well I'm glad you two are getting along better now, and i hope you can forgive me and your mother. I think somewhere along the line we just lost track of what was important and it took going to jail to realize that. You could come visit me and your mother at the retirement village. I'll give your mom the address."

"I think we'd like that dad."

Just three more kids to go, he thought to himself, as he came to the University where Lisa was residing. But to his surprise, instead of being in class, she was in a lab, being closely monitored by the scientists around her.

" Male Parental Unit." she greeted when she noticed him standing there, "All right guys, i'm taking a break. I'll be back shortly."

"Lisa, good to see you doing well."

"Actually this is part of the community service i was forced into after you went to jail. It turns out that experimenting on your siblings and invading their privacy is illegal and can be prosecuted even for a child of my age. They argued that my mental age proved that i knew what i was doing and that i should be punished accordingly."

"That sounds rather harsh."

"Nothing less than i deserve for breaking the law. Did you know that after i was convicted i was sent to the therapist where i was diagnosed as being a borderline sociopath? Well neither did i, I didn't once stop to think that the experiments i was conducting were inhumane and embarrassing at best and possibly life threatening at worst. I've thought long and hard since that diagnoses and have come to the conclusion that they were right. I can't even imagine what might have happened had i been left to run roughshod over the family as i was before. Now i don't blame you or the female parental unit, i can only see this as a good thing. I always was too smart to be in regular school anyway and here, here i get to try to find cures for diseases that plague mankind, but i'm also kept on a tight leash. It's what i needed."

"I think i was too proud of you, of your genius to see how much we were hurting you."

"That makes sense. Now if you'll excuse me, i must get back to work."

"Take my new address. If nothing else, call me. You should talk to the others."

"I don't know if they will forgive me for everything i did."

"the first step to forgiveness is to ask"

"I guess i can try that."

Next he had to go meet with Lucy and Lilly whom had been adopted together. He was surprised when he saw that Lucy was in the countryside with Rusty, another of Lincoln's classmates. He was surprised to see that Lucy had cut her hair short, showing off her beautiful blue eyes. She still wore black clothes, but she was sporting a nice farmers tan. He could see that she and Lilly who was wearing a cute jean skirt and short sleeved shirt. They both looked up from the horse that Lucy was helping Lilly brush, and Lilly took the horses reins, guiding it into the barn.

"Hey dad."

"Lucy, Lilly I can't apologize enough for the craziness that was our life. I wish i had seen earlier how miserable i was letting all of you girls get because i was blinded by the fact that i thought you were all happy."

"Dad, i was literally the definition of depressed. Rusty's family helped me to see that although i still like the macabre that it shouldn't run my life, and here i get to be with the horses. You know they don't judge based on appearance or whether or not you like to be a little quieter or like to wear black. They just like a good grooming and a good ride."

"I'm sorry i never saw that you were hurting.'

"You, the siblings, and mom never saw me period. But i guess some of that was my fault too. I should have tried harder to reach out, but you know with 11 siblings and such a loud house i guess my voice kinda got lost."

"Still, i should have intervened when i saw you withdrawing into yourself so much. If you feel like it, you and Lilly are more than welcome to come visit me and mom. We'd love to see you both."

"I think i will, but Lilly, she doesn't know you dad. She doesn't remember anything about you guys from when she was a baby. It will be like meeting a stranger."

He winced, "Then i guess that's just part of our penance for being such shoddy parents. Look i gotta go check in with my parole officer, but here's our address. At least bring her by, okay?"

"Okay dad."

He walked away with his steps so much heavier than when he had started. How had he gone so very, very wrong with all of his children? How had he never seen just how miserable they all were? He didn't know, but he did know it was going to take a long time for things to go back to anything resembling the way they used to be.

End

Depressing much? But this is what i feel could have happened, even if Mr. Grouse is a little OOC.


	10. Alternate ending two-part one

Alternate Ending two: Lincoln runs away: extreme version

It took a while of waiting for his parents to come to their senses before Lincoln started to realize they really were going to make him sleep outside, like a dog. No, not like a dog, because at least charles had his doghouse that he could go into. Lincoln had nothing but the pajamas he had on his back and the leaves in the yard. The realization that his family decided that he wasn't worth the stuff they scrapped off of their shoes didn't just hurt, it was much worse than that. He started to think over everything that had happened even before the 'bad luck' incident and was coming to the startling conclusion that his parents simply did not care about him. Had never cared about him.

Sure, they said they did, but did they ever bother asking him what happened when his sisters went wild and caused them to be banned from the grocery store? No, they had assumed that he had lost control of them, just like they always did. Did they ever stop to ask Lincoln if he wanted to go to his sisters events? No, he was simply told that that's what loud's did, they supported each other. But when it ended up being him that had to watch his sisters because Lori couldn't be bothered to stay off the god damned phone for two bloody minutes, did they ask him if he wanted to be their babysitter or offer to pay him for his efforts? No. Because Lori was in charge. She got all of the credit for his hard work.

Then, he thought about all of their trophies and accomplishments while trying to think of any of his. The only thing he could lay claim to was winning the comic book contest. You couldn't show off a trophy for that now could you? It was no wonder they had decided he was scum, he was worthless, he was surprised that it had taken him so long to see it.

Well, no more. If they didn't appreciate him for who he was, then he would find someone who would. Mind made up, Lincoln settled in for the night, trying to get as comfortable as he could under the wet leaves. When the morning came, he didn't even try the door, they had already made their minds up that they did not want him around, so why even try? He was surprised to see a cereal bowl shoved out of Charles' doggie door. At least they were going to feed him. He said nothing to the rest of the family as they rushed out to Lynn Jr's next game. He just waited until he was sure they were gone and grabbed the ladder from beside the garage. The door may be locked but he knew his sisters better than even their parents, and that Leni was constantly leaving her and Lori's bedroom window open, thinking it to be the door and that Lori couldn't be bothered to close it half the time.

Just as he thought, she had left it wide open and he scrambled inside, grabbing only a paper and pen from Lori's room and writing a letter to his parents. Not that he felt that they deserved it, it would serve them right to come home to find that he was gone with no explanation. But he felt the need to vent so he wrote the letter. Every bad feeling he had ever felt, every bad memory, every moment he felt that he didn't belong, it all went into the letter. Then it was time for two last stops. He squeezed through the vents from Lori's room into his own closet/room intending to grab a backpack of his belongings only to find that the room was bare. His furniture was gone. His clothes were boxed up. Even his old stuffed toy was sitting on top of a box, as if flung there. It broke his heart even further. Just more evidence that he never belonged here, he supposed.

Luckily for him they hadn't noticed his hiding spot for all of the money he'd ever been given or found around the house. He grabbed it all, shoving it into a pocket and re-entering the vents, heading this time for Lisa's room. With a little bit of looking he found exactly what he was looking for, the watch Lisa had given him that allowed one to travel to different dimensions.

Now he knew that the one where he'd been where all of his sisters were gender swapped was not for him, but he also knew that Lisa had been making improvements ever since and that now the dial of the watch had three settings. One was clearly labeled as "male siblings" so he knew it was the dimension he'd been to the first time. The other two were not labeled. He'd have to take his chances. Breathing out shakily he closed his eyes and turned the dial.

End chapter

So this time, Lincoln decides he's had enough and remembers Lisa's dimensional watch. Now i'm pretty sure what happened was a dream and that he never really traveled dimensions, but come one, some one as smart as Lisa's not going to let that stop her from making the watch actually work.


End file.
